Our Staff
Director
Miriam Gay-Antaki, Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies
My work focuses on human-environment relations in the era of anthropogenic global climate change. I draw from the frameworks of political ecology and feminist geography to trace climate change policy development as a series of networked connections ranging from formal political spaces, such as the UN Conference of the Parties, to scientific spaces such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to the towns and communities where climate policies are implemented. In the context of Mexico, and particularly in the state of Oaxaca, I use these frameworks to understand the ways in which societal structures shape the development and implementation of transnational climate change policies such as gendered climate interventions, and how people, mostly those who are excluded in the decision-making process, actively accept, reject or change climate policies to fit their needs. My work also investigates the participation, and sometimes the exclusion, of women scientists and stakeholders in international climate change research and policy arenas.
Photo taken in Polatsk Belarus, considered by some the Geographical Center of Europe.
Graduate Assistant
Olivia Kelly, Geography and Environmental Studies Master's Student
Olivia is a first year Master's student in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. She received her Bachelor's degrees in biology and anthropology from the University of Virginia. Her interests include restoration ecology, botany, Chihuahuan Desert ecology, public outreach, and community engagement. Olivia is from southern Ohio originally, but has lived most of her life in Appalachia (North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia). She moved to New Mexico in 2021 and spent two years working as an intern at the Bureau of Land Management's Las Cruces District Office. While with BLM, she did field work and vegetation surveys, was a soil science technician, and worked in public outreach and youth engagement. She recently moved to Albuquerque to pursue her Master's at UNM. Olivia spends most of her time outside of school with her daughter, Freya. They enjoy hiking, kayaking, riding bikes, walking their dog, and going on camping trips to see more of the southwest.
Undergraduate Honors Fellows
Bianca Camacho, Geography and Environmental Studies Undergraduate Student
Augustus Guikema, Geography and Environmental Studies Undergraduate Student
Doctoral Honors Fellow
Joe Scala , Geography and Environmental Studies Doctoral Student
Past Staff Members
William Tatman
Ramona Malczynski
Taressa Nield
Joshua Driscol
Elizabeth Chou
Cheryn Vigil
Charley Allen
Cassidy Tawse-Garcia
Alexandra Mirabal
Al-Ekram Elahee Hridoy
Desiree Loggins
The center is supported by staff and works in cooperation with GES, Sustainability Studies, other interdisciplinary centers at UNM, and the College of Arts & Science. Additionally, our community members are critical to the success of the center. We move our work forward together.
